


Of Builders and Lonely Boys

by MYuzuki



Series: Promptober 2020: 31 Days of Prompto [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Absent Parents, Friendship, Gen, Loneliness, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Promptober Day 5, Promptober: 31 Days of Prompto (Final Fantasy XV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:48:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26858473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MYuzuki/pseuds/MYuzuki
Summary: Prompto's adoptive father is a builder, in the literal sense.
Relationships: Prompto Argentum & Noctis Lucis Caelum
Series: Promptober 2020: 31 Days of Prompto [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1953943
Comments: 4
Kudos: 51





	Of Builders and Lonely Boys

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, everyone! I’m literally a day late and a dollar short for Day 5 of Promptober 2020: 31 Days of Prompto. Sorry! I attempted to post yesterday, but my laptop crashed (because of a Windows update that I did not want in the first place but was forced to get anyway…but that’s a totally different rant lol). Anyway, hope you enjoy this drabble regardless! ;D

**Of Builders and Lonely Boys**

* * *

Prompto's adoptive father is a builder, in the literal sense.

The man is an architect, responsible for designing buildings large and small, and then selling those designs to other people ad overseeing their construction. His mother, meanwhile, functions largely as his father's assistant, facilitating meetings and managing his schedule and otherwise just serving to assist him in whatever capacity is needed at any given time.

They are, by all accounts, very good at what they do; their work is in high demand, to such an extent that they're often traveling abroad for months at a time, to manage the various construction projects they're working on.

Sometimes, though, Prompto can't help but wonder why, when his mother is so good at scheduling all those meetings and trips to different regions, can she never pencil in any time for _him_. Because Prompto can honestly count on one hand the number of times his parents have spent more than a week at home in Insomnia during the last five years.

And yes, perhaps part of that is that they're really just that busy. But he can't help but wonder if he's the problem, if they're avoiding him. Because at this point that's the only explanation he can think of, the only thing that fits.

The worst part of it is that he's not entirely sure what _caused_ it, this chasm between him and his parents. Because he remembers his childhood, has good memories from his younger years; a happy day in a local playground when he was four, blowing out the candles on a birthday cake when he was five. But somewhere along the way, something had changed. He doesn't know if he had done something wrong at some point, or if his parents had simply gotten tired off _being_ parents; they weren't his birth parents, after all, so it's not like they had any true sort of familial obligation towards him, beyond whatever legal connection the adoption papers had forged between them all those years ago when they'd taken in a chubby toddler they'd seen crying at a refugee center, a baby boy who'd literally been left on the doorstep of the place in the middle of the night, his origins a complete mystery. Perhaps they'd come to the realization that Prompto wasn't worth the trouble, and that was why they spent so much time abroad.

Normally, he's able to ignore the way that makes him feel; he's gotten good at being self-sufficient over the years, after all, doesn't really _need_ them to take care of him. They still send him an allowance to pay for the rent and power bills, and he has his own job to cover the rest of his expenses. And he's no master chef like Ignis, but between takeout twice a week and the cheap staples in his pantry he keeps himself fed.

So no, he supposes that he doesn't need them, not in the way most kids would need their parents. Some stupid part of him still wants them there, though, wants them to stay home for more than three days out of every month, wants them to ask how his day at school was, wants them to fuss at him when he stays up too late playing video games.

Wants them to be there _today_ , when he graduates high school. Because that's important, right? A milestone in his life, the sort of thing that most parents are proud of, right? He wants them to sit in the crowd and cheer for him as he steps across that stage to get his diploma, the way his classmate's parents will cheer for their children. The way Noctis's dad will clap for him, despite the fact that there are probably a hundred kingly things he should be doing instead of attending a high school graduation ceremony.

And Prompto can't help but wonder: if the King of Lucis can make time to attend his son's graduation ceremony, despite the presumably tremendous responsibilities he has to juggle, why can't Prompto's parents make it? Why, when he'd called his mother to ask if they would be able to come back to Insomnia _just for the day_ , she'd scrounged up a flimsy excuse about the bidding of a project being at a crucial stage and how there probably weren't any affordable travel packages back to the city right now anyway, and he doesn't _really_ need them there, right, the important thing is that he's graduating in the first place.

Prompto had stammered out some sort of agreement, too flabbergasted and heartbroken to argue about it anymore (if it could even be called an argument when neither of them spoke more than a handful of words to one another; his mother just sounded so _tired_ of dealing with him, even just for a short phone call), tacking on a apology for bothering her about it in the first place, and then they'd said their awkward goodbyes and ended the call.

So, yes, his father is a builder and his mother is the builder's assistant, and that means that Prompto doesn't see very much of them, anymore.

And normally it doesn't bother him very much. He has his own life, after all, has Noctis (and Gladio and Ignis by extension) and usually that's enough.

Some days, though…some days, like today, when he' standing in his empty living room, staring at his graduation uniform and thinking about how he's about to walk across the stage without anyone in the audience who actually cares…well, on days like today it's harder.

Before he can really get swallowed up in his thoughts, though, a knock echoes on his front door. Puzzled as to who it could be this early in the morning, he scrambles off the couch and heads to the front door.

He's startled but happy to see none other than the Prince of Lucis himself, standing on Prompto's doorstep.

"Morning," Noctis says, as if it's totally normal for him to be standing at Prompto's door at six in the morning instead of being burrowed deep under his blankets, ignoring his alarm clock.

"Good morning," Prompto returns, fixing his friend with what he hopes is a suitably bamboozled expression. "Not used to seeing you up this early, dude," he remarks, and gets a small indignant huff in response, Noct's mouth quirking up in a faint smile.

"Yeah, well, everyone was fussing back at the Citadel, so I figured some better company was in order."

Prompto very deliberately doesn't address the fact that Noct could just as easily have gone to his own apartment in the city and spent his morning hanging out with Ignis and Gladio, rather than coming to Prompto's house before their graduation. 

Instead, he gives a bright beaming smile, a warm feeling twisting through his chest and banishing the jagged bits of lonely melancholy that had been lurking in his heart. "Thanks, Noct," he says, standing aside so Noct can come inside.

Noctis steps across the threshold, slinging one arm across Prompto's shoulders and yanking him into a loose hug. "Anytime, Prom."

(Prompto's father is a builder, and his mother is the assistant, and they're never around anymore. Not even on today, the day of his graduation when all his classmates will have their parents cheering them on.

But as much as that makes part of him feel small and sad, another part doesn't mind as much anymore. Because he stands in his apartment with Noctis at his side, he realizes that he's not so alone after all.

Because his parents won't be at his graduation, but the people in his life who actually matter to him _will_ be there.

Noct will be there, and Ignis and Gladio, and that's more than enough.)


End file.
